I Promised
by Potter's Gf
Summary: When Damon bumps into Elena he discovers things are not as he left them four years ago. Now he must return and keep the promises he made to his brother. Delena.
1. Chapter 1

Elena had picked a cold day to leave the comfort of Mystic Falls and embark on a shopping trip to a nearby city. She hadn't wanted to go too far away from her home; she just wanted to go somewhere busier, somewhere with more distractions. She tightened her maroon scarf around her neck and buttoned up her long brown coat, eager to keep the bitter wind out.

The purchases she had made earlier now seemed silly. It was technically the start of summer, so she had spent her money on some new tops, but right now they seemed so inappropriate. She doubted she would get to wear them in the next coming weeks if the weather didn't improve.

Elena wedged her way through the crowds of people walking down the street. She felt that should have brought Bonnie or Caroline along on this shopping trip with her to help her navigate her way through the streets, but they were probably busy and she didn't want to bother them.

She ducked into the nearest shop, not really paying attention to what it was selling; she just wanted to get out of the wind. She walked around rather aimlessly, admiring some of the clothes and jewelry on sale. After circling the entire shop three times Elena decided it was time to leave. She headed towards the door and braced herself for the cold chill of the wind. She had just stepped out of the shop when she was knocked to the ground by a man. He extended a hand and helped her up, apologizing to her.

"Elena?" said the man's smooth voice. Elena looked up and saw a familiar man with bright blue eyes and dark brown hair. She launched herself at him, hugging him tightly.

"Damon!" she said enthusiastically, though the sound was slightly muffled as her face was buried in his shoulder. Damon laughed and pulled her off himself, trying to get a good look at her. He hadn't seen her in around four years, but she hadn't changed much. Her hair was still the same shade of brown, though maybe a little longer. Her face hadn't seemed to age at all. However, Damon did notice that her eyes had a new maturity about them, like she had gained much more wisdom and experience since he had last seen her.

Elena seized the moment to examine Damon too. She wasn't sure what kind of change she was expecting to see, vampires didn't age after all. But she couldn't help but check he was still the same. To her great satisfaction she saw that he looked as though he could have stepped straight out of her memory. They simultaneously broke out in a smile and Elena looked around for a place they could sit and talk. She spotted a small, but busy, café. It was the perfect location to discuss the supernatural without the fear of being overheard. She led Damon across the street, careful to avoid the masses of traffic. They walked into the café and quickly found seats at a table near the back of the room. Elena took off her coat and scarf and sat down in the seat opposite Damon. He seemed to mimic her actions.

A plump waitress waddled over to them and Elena ordered a latte for herself. Damon seemed to be admiring the small green room or checking that they were safe to speak freely, Elena couldn't quite tell. She decided to start a conversation anyway.

"What are you doing here? When did you get back in the area?" She asked. Elena remembered he had said he would be traveling overseas.

"I actually just got back. I was coming to check on good ol' Mystic Falls. I thought that after all my years of visiting the world's biggest cities I could do with some small town charm." He replied, shooting a smile at Elena. She smiled back, genuinely pleased to have him around again.

"How long are you staying? You aren't just going to find a new girl, have some fun and some blood and then leave, are you?" Elena said, fiddling with the napkin in front of her. Damon noticed this and carefully worded his answer.

"I suppose that depends on what I find in Mystic Falls…" He trailed off, slightly preoccupied with the waitress returning with a drink. She placed it rather clumsily on the table, smiled at them and wandered off once more. Elena reached out for her steaming drink and took a small sip. She noticed Damon was staring at her. He had one eyebrow raised and had a questioning look on his face.

"So I suppose congratulations are in order? Though, they're probably very late knowing my brother…" he said, nodding towards the diamond ring on Elena's left hand. She put the cup down and unconsciously covered her left hand. She looked down and her hair covered her face. Damon tried to read the look on her face but he couldn't see it. He figured she was probably embarrassed, Elena had always been a bit self-conscious. Trying to ease the tension he spoke again.

"So where is your husband anyway? Is he here in town?" He looked out the window, scanning the streets as though Stefan would magically appear.

Elena looked up and met Damon's eyes. She took a deep breath, preparing to speak.

"He's dead." She said quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hopefully you all enjoyed the first chapter. I really appreciate all your reviews!_

_Thank you so much,_

_Rachel xx_

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"WHAT?" Damon hissed. Elena jumped, even though she had been expecting this sort of reaction.

"Stefan is dead." She calmly repeated, making every syllable as clear as she could. Damon scrutinized her face, checking for any traces that this could be a joke, but came up empty.

"Elena, what the hell happened? When I left you both everything was fine!" He said with a sudden urgency. This was the last news Damon was expecting to hear. He had prepared himself for the reality that Elena and Stefan were probably engaged, if not married. He had prepared himself for the fact that Elena may have been 'turned' by Stefan too. However, he was not prepared to hear that his younger brother had been murdered.

"When you left everything _was_ fine. We had been dating for some time and we were nearly finished school. That's when you took off." Elena glared slightly at Damon. She wanted him to understand she still didn't approve of his decision. "For a while Stefan seemed to think you would come back, but after some time he realized you were gone for good."

Damon laughed a little to himself but stopped when he saw the confusion on Elena's face. He resettled himself as an indication that he was ready to listen again. Elena continued suspiciously.

"After we graduated Stefan and I became more serious. Neither of us had a real career in mind so we applied for part time jobs at the same places. Stefan didn't seem to mind getting a job, even though he didn't need it. And Jenna didn't mind that I didn't have any big plans, she seemed to just like having me close. Anyway, it only took a few months out of school for Stefan to propose and I said yes. We were going to wait until after my 18th birthday to get married, but I didn't mind. Being engaged to Stefan felt just as official as being married to him and I was happier than I had ever been. But that's when the town started to hunt vampires again…" Elena swallowed hard. Damon knew this must be hard for her, but he had to know what happened to his brother. He leaned in and held her hand, stroking it in a soothing way. She gave him a little smile and he nodded in encouragement.

"From what Stefan had told me, there were unknown vampires making their way through Mystic Falls. He said he didn't know where they had come from, but they weren't killing very many people so the police assumed the usual story of animal attacks. However, some of the descendants of the founding families recognized the signs and decided to hunt the vampires. Stefan had always been careful to avoid suspicion in the town, but one night he was so thirsty he couldn't resist feeding on the animals of the forest. I told him to take my blood; I didn't want him out there while this was all going on." Elena shifted uncomfortably, but didn't stop speaking. "But he refused to drink human blood. The founding families hunting the vampires just happened to be combing that same forest for bodies, and finally managed to catch up to Stefan. He was so engrossed in his kill that he didn't hear them coming. They staked him through the heart before he even had a chance to react." Elena sniffed slightly, but remained composed.

"Did they suspect you as a vampire too?" Damon asked. He couldn't help but think of what would have happened to Elena if they had decided she was one of them.

"They assumed that Stefan was compelling me to forget that he was a vampire. They thought that I believed he was just a human." She laughed slightly, though there was nothing really funny about the situation. "They thought he had compelled you too, actually. So you're free to return to Mystic Falls if you want to…"

But Damon's ability to go undetected in Mystic Falls was not his concern… Elena was.


	3. Chapter 3

_I just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed and favourited this story. And also to those who put this on their story alert. You guys are all amazing and you've made my day so much better._

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"Elena, I'm so sorry." Damon said, brushing the hair out of Elena's eyes. She smiled weakly and Damon knew it had obviously hurt her to talk about Stefan's death again.

"If you'd like I could go rip some heads off? Start some chaos in the town? Seize our revenge?" he teased. She let out a gentle laugh and squeezed his hand, which she realized she was still holding.

"Thank you, but I'd rather have you unexposed and safe. Losing one vampire was hard enough for me." Elena cautioned.  
"Fine. Well I'm sure I could find another way to take your mind off things." Damon leaned in and winked at Elena. She let go of his hand and playfully shoved him backwards.

"You haven't changed a bit all these years. Have you?" She asked.

"I have, really. My old self just likes to make… spontaneous appearances." Damon waved his hands as if to indicate he had no control over this. Elena laughed again, but her face turned serious after a moment.

"Damon, you know you didn't have to leave all those years ago? You could have stayed with us." Elena stated. His decision to leave was something she had never really understood and since Damon now had his answers, she decided to get hers.

"No, Elena. I had to go. There was no other choice." Damon sighed. Elena could hear something in his voice that made her more curious.

"What do you mean there was no other choice?" Elena questioned. She felt her eyebrows pull together. She felt like she was missing something very important.

"I mean there was no way I could have stayed in Mystic Falls, Elena." Damon replied flatly. He didn't want to get into this now and he could feel himself starting to lose patience.

"Yes, you could have! You could have continued to be the annoying and uncaring brother. Then when Stefan and I got engaged you could have eventually decided you care enough to be Stefan's best man at the wedding. Then you could have teased me mercilessly as your new sister-in-law. See? It's all simple!" Elena argued. She could feel her heart begin to beat faster as a new anger rose in her.

"Elena, just drop it." Damon warned. He looked around the room and saw that people were beginning to point at whisper at their conversation, which was slowly turning into a fight.

"No, I can't. I need to know why you left us! You could have protected him, you know? You could have stopped them from killing Stefan!" Elena snapped. She stood up out of her seat and threw her hands down on the table.

"Elena, this isn't the time!" Damon growled. He stood up too, gesturing to the people around them who all looked on in shock.

"Stop dodging my questions! You never gave me a straight answer, and you never will!" Elena yelled. She gathered all the force she had inside her and pushed Damon. He barely moved, but she didn't care, it made her feel better to try to hurt him. She wanted to hurt him, just like he had hurt her.

"Elena, stop!" He urged. He grabbed her around the wrists to try and calm her down, but she threw him off. He could see she was crying now as she picked up her coat, scarf and bags. She didn't bother to put them on; she just stormed out the door.

Elena knew she was going to explode with rage if she didn't leave. She was sick of Damon hiding things from her and knew that she would accidentally end up revealing the Salvatore's secret to the public if she didn't get away from him. She blindly charged through the people on the sidewalk, not caring who she was barging into. She couldn't feel Damon following her, but that didn't mean he wasn't. She didn't really care where he was right now; she just wanted to get to in her car and get home. When she reached the car it took her a while to get the car door open. She was struggling to get the key in the lock because her hands were shaking and she couldn't see well through her tears.

When it finally unlocked she threw open the back door and forced her things onto the back seat, then opened the front door and climbed into her seat. She started the car up and was about to pull out into the road when she felt her door open.

"Elena, don't be stupid." Damon moaned. He tried to turn off the car, but Elena was throwing her fists at him, refusing to let him near her.

"What do you mean 'don't be stupid'? I'm just trying to get home!" she yelled. She decided to stop trying to punch him, it wasn't working anyway.

"Elena, look at me." Damon urged. She turned her face to him, scowling through her tears. "Elena, I remember what happened to your parents. They were driving, they got distracted and they lost control. You're stupid if you think I'm going to let you drive home like this." He waved towards her, she was a sobbing mess. "I am _not_ going to let the same thing happen to you, all because you are mad at me." Damon looked her straight in the eyes as he said this. He knew it would be his fault if she died, and he couldn't let that happen. Elena loosened her grip on the wheel and slumped in her chair. Damon signaled for her to move over and she obliged, sliding into the passenger seat. Damon gracefully got into the car, put on his seatbelt and started to drive.

"What about your car?" Elena muttered.

"My car? I didn't bring one – I don't need it. I only drive a car when I intend to have _lady_ passengers." Damon said cheekily. He didn't dare look at Elena, but he thought he could see her smiling out the corner of his eye.


	4. Chapter 4

_I hope you guys enjoy this!_

_Rachel xx_

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The ride to Elena's house was mostly silent, except for the sound of the car. Damon focused himself on driving; glancing at Elena occasionally to make sure she was okay. He noticed that she seemed to have settled a lot since they had left the café.

They pulled up to the house and Damon got out of the car. He opened the back door and grabbed Elena's things, then shot around to her door to help her out. Elena took her keys from Damon and noisily unlocked the front door. She stepped inside and looked around with Damon following her in.

"Jenna? Jeremy?" She called out. No one replied and she realized they must have been asleep already. She hadn't realized that the day had disappeared so fast, but she suddenly felt the exhaustion of her day creeping up on her. A sudden noise made Elena jump and Damon instantly appeared in front of her, instinctively protecting her from the threat. A small black ball of fluff came waddling out of the darkness and seemed to squeak at Elena. She touched Damon gently on the back and she felt him relax under her touch. Walking over and scooping up the black kitten, she turned to Damon.

"This is Jeremy's kitten, Matrix." She rolled her eyes at the name. She hadn't expected Jeremy to name his kitten 'Fluffy' or 'Mittens', but she thought 'Matrix' was maybe a bit over-the-top. "I would like to make it very clear that you are not to even think of eating this animal. It's basically Jeremy's best friend at the moment and I will not think twice of hurting you if you do anything to him." She warned. Damon laughed at the thought of Elena trying to punch him again, but agreed to leave the kitten alone anyway.

Elena put Matrix down on the floor, fiddled with the lamp on a nearby desk and the room was suddenly bathed in light. Damon looked around the house and noticed that nothing had really changed since he had last been here, with the exception of the black kitten rubbing up against his legs. He was surprised at this as animals usually seemed to avoid him. He reached down and picked up the kitten, feeling it purr as he ran his fingers though his fur. He noticed that the kitten had large green eyes. Damon walked over to Elena, carrying the kitten.

"Do you want anything to eat? Can I get you anything?" He asked.

"No, I think I'm just going to head off to bed." She replied.

"Oh okay. I guess I'll go-"

"No." Elena interrupted. "It's been a really hard day for me and I could do with some company. Will you stay with me… until I fall asleep?" She asked. She looked slightly embarrassed, but obviously wanted him there.

"Of course I will." Damon replied. He knew he owed her this, at least. He would have made a joke about the idea of being in her bed with her, but decided against it, given the circumstances.

Damon put Matrix back down, turned the lamp off again and escorted Elena up the stairs to her room. He carefully lay on her bed and got himself comfortable. Elena was so worn-out she didn't bother to change; she just lay on the bed next to him. She curled up against him, rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Damon began to gently stroke her hair.

"I'm really sorry about what I said today, Damon. I know that you staying in Mystic Falls wouldn't have made much difference to Stefan's death. You might have even died trying to save him, because I know you cared about him, even though you tried to hide it." Elena said quietly. Damon felt her sigh heavily in his arms, and he knew she was beginning to get sleepier.

"You know you couldn't have saved him either, right?" He questioned. She shrugged her shoulders, keeping her eyes shut.

"No, Elena, I'm serious. If he had taken your blood that night it would have made him crazy and he would have been exposed soon after that anyway. You did everything you could. None of this was your fault." He reasoned.

"Thank you, Damon. I needed to hear that…" she whispered. She wriggled a little and then snuggled in closer to him.

They lay in silence after that, waiting for Elena to fall asleep. Damon listened to Elena's breathing carefully. _In, out. In, out. In, out._ He was startled when she took breath in and whispered something. It had been so quiet that if his hearing wasn't so sensitive he would have missed it. He waited a couple of minutes then got up off the bed. He rested Elena's head carefully on the pillow and pulled her duvet over her.

"I've missed you too, Elena." Damon said, kissing her on the forehead. He waited a minute, checking she was still sleeping, and then walked out of her room and into the darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

_Firstly, a special thank you to my friend Tash who reads my chapters for me.  
__And secondly, another big thanks to all of you reviewers! I __**love**__ reading what you think!  
__Rachel xx_

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Elena woke to the sun streaming through her window. Rolling over on her side she half-expected to find Damon still lying next to her, but she knew he'd probably have left. She opened her eyes and saw her bed was empty. She sighed loudly and got up to look out of the window, it was going to be a beautiful day.

She slowly walked downstairs, still in yesterday's clothes, but she thought that no one would really notice. She could hear lots of laughing and the kitchen and her heart excitedly pounded. She gently picked up Matrix who was waiting on the bottom step and set him down in the kitchen doorway. He ran over to his food bowl and noisily chomped away at his cat biscuits, ignoring everyone else in the kitchen.

Elena was surprised to see Damon holding a pan and expertly flipping pancakes into the air and over his shoulder, then gracefully turning around and catching them again. Jeremy and Jenna, who were also helping to prepare breakfast, just watched and laughed.

"Damon, you look exactly the same as I remember you!" Jenna praised. Damon placed the pan back on the stove and turned around to face Elena.

"It must just be the Salvatore genes." He winked at Elena and she couldn't help but laugh. She startled Jenna and Jeremy, who hadn't realized she was there.

"Elena! You didn't tell me I'd be waking up with Damon Salvatore asleep on my couch. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw him there!" She laughed and playfully punched Damon in the side. Elena rolled her eyes. Even though her Aunt Jenna was beginning to get a few grey hairs (which she dyed as soon as they appeared), she was still very childish. But Elena didn't mind, it made Jenna feel more like a sister than an aunt.

"I'm sorry, Jenna." Elena apologized. She smiled at the idea that Damon had stayed in the house instead of leaving.

"Oh no, don't get me wrong, I love having him around, especially when he helps with breakfast." Jenna said. Damon shrugged his shoulders and smiled, turning back to the pancakes.

Elena couldn't help but feel like her house was finally full again. She hadn't seen everyone so happy since Stefan was here, and that was a very long time ago. She lingered in the doorway for a minute, taking it all in, and then took a seat at the table.

She watched Damon finish cooking breakfast with Jenna and Jeremy. He was having competitions with Jeremy like who could beat their egg the fastest, and who could flip their pancake the highest. Damon always won, of course, but it was nice to see Jeremy having so much fun.

They all sat around and ate breakfast together. The table was covered in pancakes, scrambled eggs and lots of other delicious food. Elena helped herself to the pancakes but was careful to avoid the one she had seen Jeremy drop. She covered her pancakes with chopped strawberries and icing sugar. She could feel it hitting her empty stomach as she ate and realized she had barely eaten at all yesterday.

"Damon, this is delicious!" Jenna said through her mouthful of eggs. "Where did you learn to cook like this?" She scooped even more into her mouth.

"You learn a lot of new skills when you travel the world. You guys should see my tango." he replied. He put on a sexy face and raised his hands as though he was grasping an invisible partner. The whole table roared with laughter and Damon joined in.

Once everyone had finished their breakfast Damon started clearing the table. He volunteered to do the dishes and Elena said she would help him. Jenna excused herself to her bedroom where Elena suspected she would be reading some trashy romance novel, and Jeremy disappeared into the living room to play with Matrix.

Elena stacked the dishes neatly to one side of the sink and filled it up with soapy water. She figured that Damon should wash, since he wouldn't know where everything went. He put on the green dish gloves even though he didn't need them, but he figured it would look a bit strange to Jenna or Jeremy if they walked in and saw him submerging his bare hands in boiling water without even flinching.

"So Elena, what are our plans for today?" He asked her. He started washing the dishes and putting them in the dish rack in front of Elena.

"Oh, um… I was just planning on going to visit the cemetery today, but you don't have to come." She said. She hadn't planned on Damon wanting to spend the day with her; she assumed he would have other things to do.

"I'd like to come, if that's okay with you?" He said. "But I don't want to be a burden."

"No, I think it'd be great. It'd be nice for you to come and see where Stefan was buried." She said kindly, smiling at him.

"I'll need to make a stop at the blood bank though. This human food just doesn't do it for me. And I don't think eating Bambi would be enough for me either." He joked. He had finished washing all the dishes in the sink with great speed, but Elena was still only half way through drying.

"That's fine. You can go while I'm in the shower, I guess." She said.

"Here, let me help." Damon said. He smirked and splashed some of the soapy water on Elena. She jumped back in shock and then flicked him with her tea-towel. He grabbed another tea-towel off the bench and mischievously flicked her with it. He was careful not to draw blood though, the last thing he needed was to attack Elena in her own kitchen. She laughed and then turned back to the dishes, careful to dodge his tea-towel whenever he tried to flick her again.

Eventually they finished the dishes and said goodbye to each other. Elena wasn't sure how long Damon would be gone so she took her time getting ready. She decided to wear one of her brand new tops from yesterday, since the weather had dramatically improved. She jumped in the shower, taking a long time and enjoying the water. She got changed into her new turquoise top and an old pair of jeans. She then took the time to put on a little bit of waterproof mascara. She walked back downstairs assuming that Damon would still be out at the blood bank.

She could hear loud noises coming from the living and realized that Jeremy must be watching a movie. Curious, she went into the living room to investigate.

She was surprised to find Jeremy and Damon on the couch watching 'The Matrix'. Matrix the kitten had curled up between them and fallen asleep, twitching slightly while he was dreaming.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked him. Damon patted Matrix and then stood up and walked over to Elena.

"Let's roll." He said. Elena noticed he had changed his clothes too and wondered how long she had actually spent getting ready.

"I figured we'd walk, since it's not that far." She said as they went outside. They walked side-by-side down the sidewalk and she felt her hand accidentally brush up against his. She blushed slightly and turned her head away from him, pretending to admire the birds flying across the sky.


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey guys. I hope the last chapter wasn't too boring but it was really there to bridge the gap between chapters 4 and 6. Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming! :D  
__Rachel xx_

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Large green vines grew across the sign that read, '_Mystic Falls Cemetery – ESTD 1792'_. Damon and Elena walked into the cemetery together in silence and noticed there was no one else around. There were ancient trees which stood all around the gravestones, making the whole area feel very private.

Elena walked over to where her parents' grave stood and Damon hovered behind her. He watched as she used her hand to brush off the dirt that had built up on their gravestone.

"Damn, I forgot the flowers. It's just been so exciting having you around that I completely forgot." Elena sighed. She turned around to look at Damon but he had disappeared. She stood alone in the cemetery, craning her head to see where he had gone. He swiftly reappeared in front of her holding two colourful bouquets of wildflowers. Elena smiled brightly at him, took one of the bouquets and leaned down to place it at the foot of her parents' gravestone. She placed her hand gently on top of the old gravestone and whispered, "I love you guys."

Then she navigated her way over to a different row of gravestones and beckoned for Damon to follow her. He cautiously walked over to her, where she had stopped by a large stone with the words '_Stefan Salvatore_' written in a beautiful, old-looking script. It also had his date of birth, date of death and small description of Stefan written on the stone. Of course, the date of birth was technically incorrect because Stefan was born around 150 years prior to the one on the gravestone.

"I'm sorry you weren't able to come to the funeral. I didn't know how to get in contact with you. I felt so terrible." Elena said quietly. Damon could hear she was a little bit teary-eyed.

"Don't worry about it, Elena." Damon mumbled. His eyes were fixed on the gravestone as though he were trying to take in every letter on it. Elena placed the second bouquet of beautiful flowers in front of Stefan's grave.

"Everyone from the town came, because they all loved him too. And Jeremy spoke at the service; he and Stefan had become best friends since Stefan was always at my house." She laughed. She looked over at Damon, but he was still just staring at the stone.

"The service was really beautiful. Your brother was a great man and he deserved nothing less." Elena said, trying to soothe Damon.

"I'm sure it was exactly what he would have wanted… being surrounded by those who loved him." Damon agreed. He reached out and took Elena's hand, entwining their fingers. They stood there together for a long time, just enjoying being close to Stefan.

Finally, Elena let go of Damon's hand and turned to walk out of the cemetery.

"Elena, do you mind if I have a moment by myself?" Damon asked.

"Sure. I'll just wait over there." She replied, signaling to a tree near the entrance. She strolled over to the large tree and nestled herself into a nook at its base. She lay there comfortably, watching Damon.

Damon had sat down in front of the gravestone with his hands in his lap. He had his head down, but Elena could tell he was talking to the stone… talking to Stefan. Elena closed her eyes and lay back in the sun; she didn't want to intrude on his moment.

It wasn't long after that she could feel Damon standing over her, blocking out the sun. She opened her eyes and he helped her up. She put her arm around his waist in a comforting way and they walked out of the cemetery together.

The streets around the town of Mystic Falls were unusually busy; Elena assumed people must be out enjoying the sun. Elena decided to get herself a strawberry ice cream from the local market but Damon didn't get anything. He explained he'd had enough human food for a while.

They walked to the town square and sat down on a bench together. Damon watched and laughed as Elena struggled to eat her ice cream before it melted. Damon's attention was drawn quickly to the pregnant blonde woman waddling across the other side of the town square.

"Elena, is that Caroline Forbes over there?" Damon asked. Elena looked up from her ice cream which she was dripping down the cone.

"Yes, it is. She's actually pregnant." Elena announced. Damon looked over and saw Elena was being distracted by her ice cream again.

"I can see that, Elena. She's huge!" He explained, waving an arm in Caroline's general direction.

"Just don't let her hear you say that. She's very sensitive about her weight at the moment." Elena said, crunching her way through her ice cream cone.

"So who's the baby-daddy anyway?" Damon asked. He laughed as Caroline struggled to pick up the coins she had just dropped.

"You mean the father?" Elena corrected. She ate the last few mouthfuls of her ice cream before she answered.

"It's Matt. They got married just after Stefan and I got engaged." She said.

"What? I thought he was still hung up on you." Damon commented as he turned towards Elena.

"For a while Caroline thought he was and she got really jealous, but it was partly because he and I were still really good friends. Eventually he realized that I was in love with Stefan and that wasn't going to be changing anytime soon, so he moved on with Caroline." She told him.

"Moving on probably wasn't as easy as he made it look…" Damon said quietly. Elena looked over and saw he was deep in thought, so she let him be.

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A/N: _I just need to add a note here that I mention Caroline in this chapter but she is definitely a human in my story. Please review xx_


	7. Chapter 7

_Once again I must thank Tash, because she encourages me to publish what I write and helps me when I'm stuck. Without her, this story would not be the same.  
__Rachel xx_

Elena felt herself shiver and realized the sun was starting to go down. She had completely lost track of time, again. She couldn't explain how this kept happening when she was with Damon, but she definitely didn't mind.

They had spent their whole afternoon together in the town square just talking and hanging out. Damon was interested in what had happened to some of the other residents of Mystic Falls since he'd left, so Elena filled him in. She told him how Alaric had left town after Stefan's funeral, but came back to visit every now and then, much to Jenna's delight. And she told him how Bonnie had left to go to college in the city where Elena had been shopping. Bonnie always made an effort to email Elena at least twice a week since the funeral, claiming to want to hear all the latest gossip in the town. But Elena knew she was just trying to check up on her without seeming too obvious. She didn't mind though, she missed her best friend. It was hard for Elena to not be close to Bonnie anymore, and Caroline was so busy with baby preparations that they hardly had time to hang out together.  
For a little while in the afternoon Elena lay on the soft grass and tried to find pictures in the clouds. She had to stop that game when Damon decided to join in and kept finding inappropriate things in the innocent sky. As funny as she thought it was, she didn't think it would do any good to encourage him.

A chilly wind blew past and Damon now noticed Elena was getting cold. He offered to walk her home as he, of all people, knew how unsafe Mystic Falls could be.

When they reached the house and walked through Elena's front door they were greeted by the smell of burnt cooking. Elena rushed into the kitchen to find Jenna sitting at the table with her head in her hands and Jeremy running a large pot under hot water.

"What happened?" Elena panted. Jenna looked up from the table, incredibly embarrassed.

"I was just trying to cook something nice for you guys. It was a new recipe and everything… I don't know what happened, but something went wrong." She said. Jeremy mouthed the words "Really wrong!" and laughed silently before turning back to the smoking pot.

"That was so nice of you, Jenna. We can just order pizza for dinner, don't worry." Elena said as she walked over and started rubbing Jenna's back.

"Yeah, and I'll pay, as long as you don't mind me staying for dinner?" Damon asked. Jenna looked as though she might cry of happiness. Her hair was sticking out at awkward angles and she was covered in mysterious stains, obviously from her attempted dinner.

"Oh thank you, Damon." She said gratefully. "I'd love for you to stay, that would be wonderful. I don't think that I could handle another attempt at cooking tonight." She added rather sheepishly. Elena walked over to the phone and ordered a couple of pizzas. She figured that Damon wouldn't be eating; he'd make up some lame excuse to please Jeremy and Jenna. Jeremy decided he would go with Damon down to the pizza shop, leaving Jenna and Elena alone.

Elena made a start on cleaning up the kitchen while she had the chance. She tipped out the burnt contents of the pot into the rubbish bin, and then took it over to the sink. She reached down into one of the cupboards and pulled out a scrubbing brush, then began trying to scrape the burnt food of the bottom of the pot. Jenna hovered helplessly behind her.

"Elena, I'm so sorry. I'm such a sad excuse for a caregiver." She said. Elena laughed and turned to look at her.

"You do fine. Next time just don't try to impress the company." Elena giggled. Jenna laughed and began setting the table.

"Speaking of company, what's going on with you and Damon?" Jenna asked, doing her best to keep the tone casual, despite the topic of conversation. Elena stopped scrubbing and braced herself on the sides of the sink.

"I…" She started, but no words came. Jenna abandoned the cutlery and walked over to hug Elena, holding her tightly. She pulled Elena back slightly so she could look her in the eyes.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you. Stefan would want you to be happy, you know. He wouldn't want you to stay grieving forever." She explained. There was a true honesty in her eyes and Elena couldn't help but look away.

"I know." She confirmed. Elena wanted to end this conversation well before Damon got anywhere near the house, she knew how sensitive his hearing was and this was not something she wanted overheard. Jenna seemed to assess the situation, hugging Elena one last time and then turning back to setting the table. Elena went back to scrubbing the pot, with a little more force than before.


	8. Chapter 8

_I had never intended for this story to be very long, and I never expected to it be very popular at all. I'm pretty much at the end of the plan I had written for this story and, as much as I would love to continue, I think I've already stretched it out too far. This means that the story will probably end next chapter because I want to stick with what I originally intended for this story. Sorry if this disappoints any of you.  
__Rachel xx  
__PS: I never meant for this chapter to be this long, I hope you still like it!_

* * *

Elena had just finished scrubbing the burnt pot when the boys returned to the house with the pizza. She tried her best to compose herself as she turned around and took a seat at the dinner table. Her head was so full of thoughts that she wasn't sure which expression would be showing on her face. Damon put the pizzas down on the table and shot her a questioning look, but she just shook her head and straightened up in her seat. He sat down next to her and watched as everyone else reached in to grab some food.

"Aren't you eating, Damon?" Jeremy asked. He had already grabbed four large slices of pizza and put them on his plate, ignoring Jenna and Elena's disapproving looks.

"No, I'm not really hungry. I think Elena's been over-feeding me since I got back to town." He joked and patted his stomach. Elena rolled her eyes and nibbled on a slice of pepperoni pizza.

"You showed up at my house last night and I've just realized I haven't even asked where you were all these years. So… where did you go?" Jeremy asked him. Elena was interested to hear this too, it was something she had forgotten to ask.

"I was traveling overseas actually. I visited most of the typical tourist spots. You know, places like Paris, Rome and London." He said. He whispered the word "_again_" just loud enough that only Elena would hear. She tried to hide her grin from the others.

"Wow. That must have been amazing!" Jenna gasped. She looked very impressed by the idea of Damon traveling solo across the world.

"It wasn't bad." Damon said with no particular enthusiasm. Elena wasn't quite sure what he meant by figured that if he didn't want to be traveling then he could have just stayed in Mystic Falls.

"What did you do on your travels? I don't expect you're the type for souvenir shopping." Jenna laughed.

"I generally didn't stay in one place for more than a week. I just kind of drifted from one place to another. I mostly spent my time learning new skills, and meeting new people." Damon answered.

"Did you meet anyone special?" Jeremy inquired nosily; he was wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive way. Elena could her feel breath catch in her chest, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer to this. Damon unintentionally looked at Elena for a moment, and then back to Jeremy.

"Not while I was traveling, no." Damon said noncommittally. Elena tried to hide her relieved sigh by reaching out for another slice of pizza. Jeremy shrugged and went back to eating.

They managed to finish both pizzas quickly, mostly because Jeremy practically ate a whole pizza by himself. He had given a piece of pepperoni to Matrix to eat because he was hanging around the table. Jenna offered to do the dishes and nominated Jeremy to help her since Elena and Damon had done the ones from breakfast. Damon and Elena went into the lounge and Elena turned on the television. She wasn't really watching anything, just flicking from channel to channel. Matrix, who had finished his treat, jumped up on the couch with Elena and Damon and settled in between them.

"So what's up with Jeremy? Why isn't he at college or something?" Damon whispered. He kept his voice down because they had left the door open as Jenna kept giving them suspicious looks.

"He stayed until the end of high school because Jenna forced him and then he decided he wanted to do a gap year. Unfortunately, that's when Stefan was killed." Elena whispered back.

"What do you mean?" Damon asked. He couldn't understand what she was implying.

"Jeremy didn't do so well when my parents died. He was a bit of a wreck. And then when Vicki was murdered and you convinced him she had left town he got worse. Eventually Stefan managed to get him back on track; he was a good influence on Jeremy and encouraged him to start planning for his future and things. Stefan got him a job and they started hanging out a lot, and it was like Jeremy had come back to life. But when Stefan was killed Jeremy lost it again. He stopped going out, he stopped going to his job, and he basically just locked himself in his room all day." She turned to check the door and make sure that they were still safe to talk. She changed the channel a few times to avoid Jenna getting suspicious.

"I think he got it in his head that all the people who he got close to died or left, and that it was somehow his fault. To fix this he just stopped getting close to people all together. There was nothing Jenna or I could do to help him." Elena continued. She looked sad now and Damon knew she felt like she had failed Jeremy and her parents.

"I could compel him again and try to make it all better, if you want? I am a vampire, after all." Damon bragged, trying to make Elena smile. It worked.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." She laughed. "Maybe you could just talk to him. I mean, Stefan was your brother and he really looked up to him. I think he would look up to you too." She added. Damon thought about it for a moment, and then nodded his head.

Elena could hear Jenna and Jeremy still clanging around in the kitchen. They were obviously finishing cleaning up the mess Jenna had made earlier.

"Elena, can I ask you a question?" Damon said.

"Sure, you can ask me anything." Elena replied. She wasn't really sure what he was going to say.

"Did it really not bother you that you were going to be marrying a vampire?" He asked quickly.

"Well, it's certainly not the kind of thing I had planned on as a child; I always imagined I'd end up with Prince Charming. But no, it didn't really matter that Stefan was a vampire. I loved him, and he loved me back, that's all that mattered to me. And most of the time he acted as though he was a human anyway. I know he would never have hurt me." She answered honestly. She could feel her cheeks burning and started fiddling with the remote.

"What about not being able to have children? You always struck me as the type of girl who would want a bunch of little brats running around." Damon said, looking at her as though the idea repulsed him.

"We talked about that. I decided that having children wasn't that important to me. I'd played enough of a mother to Jeremy when my parents died; Jenna had needed all the help she could get." She chuckled, still looking down. "I figured I wasn't giving up much if I got to be with Stefan."

Damon placed his hand under her chin and tilted her head up. He looked as though he was going to say something but decided against it. He dropped his hand down to his side as Jenna walked into the room.

"Damon, where are you staying?" Jenna asked. She noticed it was starting to get late.

"I was just going to stay at my old house, assuming it still belongs to the Salvatore's?" He replied. He looked at Elena, assuming she would have had a part in deciding these things while he was out of town.

"Yes. After Stefan died the council decided it was only fair to leave it to you. Stefan didn't have a will, but the property was technically yours." Elena stated.

"So you'll be staying alone?" Jenna asked. Damon could hear the concern in her voice; he began to think she was more of a mother than everyone thought.

"Yes. It's okay though, I can protect myself." He laughed and flexed the muscles in his arms for dramatic effect.

"Why don't you just stay here with us? I mean, we have a spare couch. And you did buy us all dinner. Technically, we owe you." Jenna offered. She smiled at him and waved towards the couch they were sitting on.

"Elena?" Damon said, turning to her. He didn't want to just assume she wanted him to stay again.

"It's fine. It'd be nice to have you here." She reassured him.

"Well, I guess I'll stay then." Damon decided. He reached over and patted Matrix, who was had just woken up from his nap on the couch.

"Okay. I'll make up the couch for you!" Jenna smiled. She rushed out of the room quite suddenly, and returned with an armful of blankets. She shooed Elena, Damon and Matrix off the couch and set to work.


	9. Chapter 9

_I'm __**really**__ sorry this wasn't up last night, but I've been quite sick lately. I hope you guys really enjoy this chapter because I've never been great at ending haha. I really appreciate you sticking with the story up until this point, and just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone.  
__Thanks a lot.  
__Rachel xx_

* * *

Damon and Elena stood around and watched Jenna try to turn the couch into more of a bed. She seemed to not even notice they were still standing there; she was too focused on her task.

"Damon, I've just remembered there's something I wanted to give to you." Elena smiled. She led him up the stairs and into her room. Elena flicked on her lights and closed the curtains before walking over to her desk. Damon had taken a seat on the end of the bed, so she picked up her antique jewelry box and sat down next to him. She opened the fragile box and pulled out a large ring. It was Stefan's ring.

"Elena, how did you get this?" Damon asked with his eyes wide. He knew the founding families took the belongings of the vampires which weren't destroyed in the struggle, assuming they were vampire artifacts.

"I told the founding family members that the ring was a Salvatore heirloom and was very valuable. It wasn't really a lie, but they didn't want to give it me. They held onto it for a little while, trying to figure out what it did, but eventually they had to return it to me." She said, smiling brightly. Damon knew that it would have taken a lot of convincing to get this ring back and he was proud of Elena for trying so hard.

"Elena, you're amazing. I can't believe you managed to get it back, without being able to compel people. I can't imagine what kind of mischief you'd get up to if you did have that power!" He said, looking very impressed. She laughed and blushed a little bit; she wasn't used to being complemented for deceiving people.

"Damon, I want you to have the ring. It belonged to Stefan and it was the thing that seemed to unite you two, as vampires, and as brothers." Elena said. She held out the ring in both hands, pushing it towards Damon. She expected him to reach out and take it, but instead he put his hands around hers and closed them against the ring.

"No, Elena. You should keep it. I've already got mine, and you deserve to keep this one. Besides, one day you may wish you still had it…" He winked at her and let go of her hands. Elena looked at Damon and then down to the ring. She twirled it around a couple of times before placing in on the index finger of her right hand. The initial 'S' on the ring flashed in the light. She stared at the ring for some time, thinking about everything that had happened in the last few days.

"Damon, can I ask you something?" Elena asked, finally looking up from the ring. Damon paused a moment, he thought he knew where this conversation was going and he needed time to prepare himself.

"Yes." He answered slowly.

"And you swear to tell the truth?" She questioned. She was never sure that Damon could talk about personal things without deflecting, lying or hiding behind humor.

"I swear." He echoed. Elena closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened them again and focused on Damon.

"What did you say to Stefan at the graveyard today?" She asked. Her curiosity had built up to boiling point, and she needed to know what was going on. Damon sighed heavily and met her gaze.

"I told him I kept my promise before, and I will keep my second promise from now on." He said. Elena frowned; it was not the type of answer she had been expecting.

"But… what does that mean?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. He reached out and took her hand.

"It means that when he made me promise to leave town, I left. And now I'm back, keeping my other promise." He said bluntly. Elena's face flashed through several emotions including confusion, concern, and anger.

"He made you promise to leave? _Why_ would he do that? Damon, I don't understand…" Elena whispered. She always thought Stefan had so much patience with Damon, even though he had never managed to control him. Damon closed his eyes rubbed his forehead with his free hand, still holding Elena's hand in the other.

"I was in love with you, Elena. He asked me to leave because I was in love with you." He confessed. He opened his eyes and looked at her, she was obviously in shock.

"What? You weren't in love with me; you were always out with all those other girls. You couldn't have been in love with me." She blurted out. She let go of his hand and pulled away a little bit.

"Yes, I was. I wanted you so much, Elena. It killed me to watch him with you." He seemed to wince at the memories. "So I tried to distract myself with drinking, girls, and generally being reckless but nothing worked. I wanted to be here fighting for you, not watching him just take you. But I couldn't bear going through the pain of that again; I couldn't get into another love triangle. So I just left. I left you here with him, knowing you'd be happy."

"Oh, Damon… I-" She started, but he cut her off.

"He wanted to be with you, Elena. And because you wanted to be with him too there was no reason for me to stay. He didn't want me around to mess your relationship up, so I promised to leave town. I was miserable while I was gone, but I gave up on all the stupid behaviour because I knew that if there was ever a chance for me to be with you I would have to stop pushing you away with everything, all my 'bad boy' behaviour. That's why I came back here, Elena. I came back for you." He said, reaching out for her hand again. She held out her hand, and he took her hand and placed it on his chest, resting it there.

"But what if Stefan was still around? What if we were married?" She asked. She wasn't sure if he had factored that into his plan or not.

"It didn't matter what I was to you, I just needed to be near you again. I would take brother-in-law or friend if it was the only position I could get." He admitted. "And then I found out Stefan had been killed and I couldn't believe it. I hadn't just made one promise on the day I left, I had made two. He made me promise that if anything happened to him that I would protect you, forever. So I'm here now, Elena. I'll be whoever you need me to be, whether that means you love me back or not, but I _will_ keep my promise and I _will_ protect you." He vowed, his blue eyes piercing her brown eyes.

Elena suddenly leaned over and kissed him. The kiss was gentle at first, almost cautious, but it grew more passionate as years of their hidden emotions came flooding to the surface. Damon pulled her closer to his body and Elena knotted her hand in his hair, never wanting to let him go. She hadn't realized how much she had loved him until now. She had always loved Stefan and she always would, but she knew she was in love with Damon too. She didn't feel like she was betraying Stefan because she would never forget what she had with him, but now she was starting a new chapter of her life, and that was with Damon.

Elena felt something move next to her and she leapt off the bed, breaking away from the kiss. Damon turned around to face whatever had moved, his eyes turning dark and the veins darkening around his eyes too. He realized it was just Matrix on the bed and turned back to Elena. He took a deep breath and she watched his face return to normal. He slowly shook his head a couple of times, trying to regain focus.

"Elena, I'm really sorry… I guess I take this protector role too seriously." He apologized; standing very still in case he had scared her. Elena strode over and hugged him tightly, feeling his muscular arms wrapping securely around her.

"It's okay; I know you're just doing what you promised you would." She said, looking up at him. He gently kissed her forehead and embraced her again.

They could hear movement downstairs and figured that everyone would be getting ready for bed now. Sighing, Elena backed out of Damon's arms.

"Damon, I need you to promise me something." She demanded.

"Anything…" He said, frowning slightly. He would do anything she asked of him.

"Promise you'll never leave me again?" She said, bursting into a huge smile.

"I promise, Elena." Damon said. He grasped her face in his hands and kissed her passionately once more.


End file.
